This song, Home on the range , is the official state song of Kansas where I grew up. Never once did I ever question the things said in this song, for I believed it to be true since it was the official state song. How many times have we believed something to be true just because it has the stamp of someone's approval or someone in authority says so?

I have never seen an Antelope let alone see one play with a deer. I do know that long ago, buffalo did indeed roam, stampede and otherwise tear up the pastures all through the Great Plains. I find it hard to believe there ever was a time in the West , where seldom was heard a discouraging word and the sky was not cloudy all day. Being from Kansas, I know that the sky could produce tornadoes at will. I now look at this song as nothing more than the expression of wishful thinking and the dream of a utopian place that is unavailable in this world.

I squandered the best years of my life because I was so naïve that I believed every word spoken by the Bible teachers I sat under to be God's Word. In time, the problems I developed all had their root in wrong doctrine regarding the truth of God's Word. When I walked away from being force fed what I should believe and instead simply read and worked the Word of God on my own; it pained me to see how my naivety led me down a road of perdition and skewed my life and thinking for many years.

When it comes to knowing and growing in the Word of God, we must keep things simple and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and teach us. We must be as the Bereans and work the Word of God to make sure what we hear and read is indeed the truth. We must climb out of the hole of emotional response and set foot on the sure footing of sound doctrine.

I learned long ago that a good teacher ALWAYS welcomes questions (provided that do not come from a student who is simply stalling for time because they don't want to get to work )

Seriously, a good teacher is not threatened by questions. They welcome and even encourage them. The last thing they want is for a student to accept something just because they said so. Instead they want them to study it for themselves. A minister or a teacher of the Word of God who sends the message that questions are not welcome (it is pretty easy to figure that one out) should be avoided because that is a red flag that something might very well be wrong.

Yeah, actually it is the lack of questions that should trouble a teacher because while some of course can mean the student isn't paying attention, most questions tell the teacher the exact opposite. The student IS paying attention and it is more than just that. They are seeking to thoroughly understand and apply what was is being taught. Isn't that what learning really is?

Not a good place to have found yourself in - would be interesting to hear how you woke up and realized the path that you were on was not entirely correct. Trusting that you moved well on from that point.